Lumber River State Park
Lumber River State Park is the 30th park in our 2025 North Carolina State Park Challenge! This park is located 50 miles south of Fayetteville and has two access points (Princess Ann and Chalk Banks). There are only 5 miles of hiking in the park between the two accesses, but the star of this park really is the river. The Lumber River is a blackwater river that runs for 115 miles of paddling.
The unique black color of the river comes from the tannins of the cypress gum trees along the river’s banks. The Lumber River is the only blackwater river in North Carolina to have the National Wild and Scenic River designation.
We started our day at the park office to grab our passport stamp. The office is closed on the weekends, but you can still grab your stamp- the office leave an envelope with the “stamp” stickers in it as well as park maps. Then we headed off on the trails to stretch our legs- first the Griffin Bluff Trail out to Griffin’s Whirl (where you can see the water flow in a reverse direction) then continued on to Mill Hole Trail. After following the looping trails back to the parking area and ramp, we inflated our paddle board and headed out on the water. The river flow ranges from less the 2 MPH to 4 MPH. You can see a decent flow to the river so we decided to go upstream first, just in case it was too difficult to paddle against. I could definitely tell that I was paddling against the current but it was not difficult to make progress up stream. After paddling for a while, we turned around and let the current take us back down stream to the ramp. If you don’t have your own boat, you can rent from a few different vendors. Riverway Outfitters services only the Princess Ann access and Blackwater Adventures services both access points for the park. They both rent kayaks/canoes, offer shuttle services, and eco-tours.
There is camping at both access points, but they are an hour apart so make sure you know which one you’ve booked your campsite at! All of the campsites at the Chalk Banks are drive-in while the Princess Ann campsites are walk-in. The walk in distance will range from 125ft to 440ft.
This park really has a unique river - on a Saturday morning I saw a group of kayakers going out for a group paddle. Make sure you add it to your list! Enjoy!
Park Details:
ADDRESS: 2819 Princess Ann Road, Orrum NC 28369
HOURS: December- February: 7am-7pm
March- April & October: 7am-9pm
May- September: 7am-10pm
November: 7am-8pm
PARK OFFICE: Monday- Friday: 8am-12pm & 1pm-5pm (Closed on all state holidays)
PASSPORT STAMP: Located in the Park Office during open hours, can be found in a envelope but the door of the office when it is closed.
ENTRANCE FEE: No Entrance Fee
TRAILS: 5 miles of hiking trails in the park (2 miles at the Princess Ann Access and 3 miles at the Chalks Bank Access)
ACTIVITIES: Hiking, Paddling, & Fishing
DOG RULES: Dogs are not allowed in park buildings or on swim beaches. Please pick up after your pet!
Check out our videos about this Park on instagram @axel.theadventurepup
